Category: furniture.

Remember the little mismatched bench that came with this vanity?

It didn’t really match.  And upon closer inspection, I realized that because it is wider than the opening, it was getting pretty beat up where it would hit against the sides of the vanity.  Clearly, it’s not a good match.  So I decided to experiment on it.  Eeek!  Sounds slightly evil, doesn’t it?

First, I decided to paint it in a 50/50 mix of MMSMP in Shutter Grey and Grain Sack.  I was hoping for a lovely pale Gustavian sort of grey.  I got the right amount of paleness, but maybe it’s not quite warm enough.  The Shutter Grey has so much blue that it gives a definite coolness to the grey.  Also, just look at how much chipping I got!

Wowza!

Likely the result of little to no sanding.  I just hate sanding round spindly bits.

After knocking back the paint chips and adding some antique wax, I am left with this.

A very chippy look for sure.  Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I know some of us love this look for its very chippyness.

But the next decision is what to use to upholster the seat.

First I tried a colorful vintage 50’s fabric.

Hmmmm.  Very shabby chic.  But to me, this fabric and this paint job do not belong together.

Next option, some vintage white cotton with some cut work.

Too crisp and dainty for the rustic paint job?

How about a patched grain sack?

I think the grain sack color is too warm next to the cool tone on the bench.  Otherwise, I like the idea of the grainsack, and I even like the patch on it.  It’s the perfect amount of scruffy to work with the chippy paint job.

Next, I tried just a generic scrap of linen that I figured I could add a stencil to later.

Definitely not very exciting.  Although a stencil would add some pizzazz, I just don’t think this is quite the right choice either.

In the end, I decided to put the bench aside and wait for the perfect fabric.  But then, as I was cleaning up the kitchen I came across the tea towel that I bought from H & M.  Hello!  I thought it just might be perfect.

I think it works!  Now I just have to wash it up and staple it on.

And I’ll have a fab little bench with a graphic seat.

For the curvy gams dresser I decided to create my own Miss Mustard Seed paint color by mixing several colors together and I absolutely LOVE how it turned out!  In honor of spring, I am calling it Robin’s Egg Blue.

The color is almost an exact match for the aqua flower frogs that I picked up at Junk Bonanza.

Here is the recipe:

1/4 cup Luckett’s Green

1/2 cup Eulalie’s Sky

2 T Flow Blue

Mix well with equal parts water.

This made more than enough paint for two coats on this dresser.  I also painted a mirror frame and still have a little paint left over.  And in case you are wondering, yes, my paintbrush really looks this bad.

And without any further ado, here is the robin’s egg blue dresser.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I LOVE this color.  This color is ME.  I wish I had a spot for this dresser, but alas, I do not.  However, I do plan to paint something of my own in this mix.  I have a small wash stand on my front porch that I may paint in this.  Or perhaps even just a small chair or stool.  Definitely something.

As you can see, this dresser has a fair amount of chippy fabulousity.  I love the way it looks like you just hauled it out of granny’s attic.

I changed out the knobs for all glass.  The existing pulls were OK, but I just didn’t think they were right with this color.  I’ll save them for use on another piece down the road.  I finished this dresser with Miss Mustard Seed clear wax, the color was so lovely that I didn’t want to alter it too much with hemp oil or a dark wax.

I really struggle with capturing accurate color in my photos.  Do any of you have this problem?  I know I need to correct the white balance in some of these.

Somehow these pictures don’t seem so bad on my home computer, but then when I look at them on my phone or my work computer, I see that they need work.  I’m trying to work on my photography skills as I go.  Hopefully they will improve with time! 

Anyway, in this picture you can see that the top didn’t chip nearly as much as the drawer fronts.  This seems to be an ongoing question with the milk paint, and as most will tell you, oftentimes you just can’t predict the chippy.  I will tell you that I sanded the top and sides of this dresser with a palm sander, and I sanded the drawer fronts by hand.  I didn’t sand the edge around the top at all.  Obviously the areas that were sanded most thoroughly (with the palm sander) had the least amount of chipping.  I generally find this to be true.

If you are interested in purchasing the robins egg dresser, it is available for $225 , woops, you missed it!  It’s sold!

The snow is gone.  The days are getting longer and little bit warmer.  And I have finally made it out to my Carriage House workshop to get things organized.  I was just telling my friend Sue that I have 13 pieces of furniture waiting to be refurbished.  Yikes!  I may be turning into a hoarder.

I have good reasons why all of these pieces have been waiting for spring, but I won’t bore you with all the details.  Now that spring is here, I have taken inventory and consulted with Ken about repairs and I have a plan of action.

Here are just some of the pieces in the line up.

Mr. Q found this desk on the curbside in our neighborhood and he snatched it up.  See, he is becoming properly trained in the art of junking!  Someone has already gone to the trouble of stripping the top of the desk, but I suspect they decided it was far too much trouble and they gave up after that.  It needs a little repair under the middle drawer and it needs all new hardware, but I think this will be a darling little desk.  Plus, I have set a goal of improving my ability to work with stain, and this guy will be a perfect jumping off point since his top is already stripped.  I plan to paint the bottom and stain the top.

What I love most about this dresser are its curvy front legs.  I think this one will be a charmer once it’s painted.  This one is next up on the to-do list.  I just need to decide on a color.

This vanity is part of a bedroom set that Mr. Q and I picked up on a Friday date night.  Isn’t it pretty?  I debated briefly about removing the mirror and just calling it a desk, but in the end I think I’ll paint the mirror and leave that option up to the buyer.  Keep the mirror and have a vanity, or chuck the mirror and have a desk.  The seller also included a little vanity seat, but it’s obviously not original to the set.  Not sure if I will keep these paired up or not.  What do you think?

Here is the gentlemen’s dresser that came with this set.

Isn’t he unique?  This will be a fun one to paint.  I’m going to have Ken replace the back on it first because it’s in pretty rough shape, but otherwise this one is in quite good condition.

The bed is by far in the worst condition.  A leg broke off the headboard on the way home.  The veneer on the footboard has definitely seen better days.  Ken is confident that he can repair the leg, and I am confident that a coat of paint will bring this one back to its former glory.  I love these curved footboards.

Next we have this sweet little drop leaf desk.

Some friends of mine dropped this one off for me one day.  They had planned to refurbish this themselves, but never got it done, and thought of me.  I love friends like this!  And isn’t it a sweet little desk?  Ken will put new hinges on to reattach the drop leaf and I will add paint.  I have a plan for this one forming in my mind.  It includes one of my new French stencils.

Finally, we have this sideboard.  nnK, my craigslist spotter, has the whole family involved.  She sent her dad off to fetch this one from the wilds of Wisconsin.  Her folks live in a beautiful lake home about an hour from here and this sideboard wasn’t too far from them.

nnK also came up with an idea for this one.  Replace the two center drawers with shelves instead, cut a hole in the back for cords, and market this as a TV stand.

I’m having trouble making this decision.  The conservative side of me is afraid to mess with a perfectly good sideboard.  But on the other hand, I can definitely see the plus side of turning it into a TV stand.  It’s the perfect size to balance out a large wide screen TV.  The center section is the perfect size to hold a couple of components.  I think there are more buyers out there looking for a great piece to hold their widescreen TV than those looking for a great place to hold their silver and china.

I plan to give this one an updated color and more modern hardware, giving it an updated look.

So … weigh in.  TV stand or sideboard?  What do you think?

 

Did you know that the Chateau Marmont hotel is located on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and that it was built in 1927? It is a Hollywood landmark.  Movies have been filmed there, famous stars have lived in its bungalows.  I did not know any of this when I ordered my Chateau Marmont stencil a little over a week ago. I also didn’t know that I would be buying a 1927 dresser within just a few days!  I just thought the stencil was pretty.

Unfortunately, only a small section of the 18″ x 12″ stencil fit on the 1927 dresser.  Here is the full stencil:

I originally just assumed a place called Chateau Marmont was in France. I would still be laboring under that illusion if I hadn’t had the TV on over the weekend while finishing up my painted books. I have a confession to make. Sometimes I watch those horrible true crime shows. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. But I only watch them during daylight hours!  I would be chicken to watch them after dark. So … I had the TV on, and a show came on about a serial killer that appeared on the Dating Game. Please tell me I’m not the only one here who remembers the Dating Game!

Anyway, yes … it’s true. He appeared on the show in 1978. And in fact, the bachelorette chose him! Can you imagine? Believe it or not, he was a registered sex offender at the time.  Apparently the Dating Game people didn’t do background checks! In the end, the woman never did go on a date with him because she ultimately found him creepy. Yet another example of why we should trust our gut instincts!

But … at this point you are probably wondering … how did we go from Chateau Marmont to the Dating Game serial killer? Well … one of his earliest victims lived at Chateau Marmont. On the show they explained that she was walking to school from the Chateau Marmont where she lived with her parents.

And we come full circle and the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon strikes again!  I’m sure I would have never even noticed the name of the residential hotel where this girl lived if I hadn’t just happened to buy a stencil with that name on it.

But enough about serial killers, chateaus that are really in California and strange coincidences.  Didn’t the 1927 dresser turn out lovely?

You may remember from the ‘before’ pictures that the top of this dresser was badly damaged.  I decided to just rip off the veneer entirely.  As I suspected, about 80% of it came off quite easily in about 30 seconds, and the last 20% took me another 30 minutes to remove!  I used a heat gun and a putty knife and just kept picking away at it.

Painting details:  painted in Miss Mustard Seed milk paint in Shutter Grey with Grain Sack on the very top.  The raised oval and rectangle also painted in Grain Sack.  Finished with hemp oil.

The Shutter Grey is really more blue than grey.  It is one of those tricky colors that looks different in different light.  Sometimes it looks more grey, and other times more blue.  Either way, I love the pale subtlety of this color.  I wish I had done a better job with these photos, but I ran out of time.  I had to snap them quickly after work as my light was fading.  I wanted to get some shots of it before I threw it in the truck at the last minute for Junk Bonanza.

One last note, I must say the Shutter Grey was a pleasure to paint with.  I was worried that it wouldn’t cover well, being so light, and that I’d have to do 3 coats.  But it went on beautifully, covered quite well in one coat, but I put on a 2nd lighter coat for good measure.  If you haven’t tried this color, I say give it a whirl!

Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here.

Any Beatles fans out there?

In honor of spring, I decided to paint this dresser in a bright and sunny yellow last weekend.  I’ve actually had this paint since last fall just waiting for the perfect piece.  As soon as I saw this one on craigslist, I knew it would be lovely in yellow.

Feel free to skip this next bit if you are only here to see the pictures!

Painting details:  painted in MMS Mustard Seed Yellow milk paint, details painted in Linen, finished with MMS clear wax.

New to me, I left the top alone.  It seems to be more and more popular to leave the tops of pieces stained, so I thought I would give that a try.  I cheated though … the top of this one was in good enough shape as is, I just spruced it up with a little MMS hemp oil.  I’m still not brave enough to strip and stain.  Maybe I will tackle that skill this summer.

The hardware on this dresser was quite lovely, and I had all of it, so it stayed.

As you can see, I got a lot of chippy-ness … especially on the Linen details.

It’s a perfectly lovely little breath of sunshine to welcome spring.  Wish I had a fresh bunch of daffodils to stage my photo, but we are still a bit away from daffodils here in Minnesota.  Just imagine them there in that ironstone pitcher.

The year is 1927.  Our president is Calvin Coolidge.  Charles Lindbergh is about to fly solo across the Atlantic.  Work begins on Mount Rushmore.  Women are getting their hair bobbed and beginning to wear … gasp! … trousers!

And while all of that was happening, inspector no. 218 was signing off on this dresser.

How do I know this?  Well, there is a sticker on the bottom of one of the drawers of course!

Isn’t that kind of cool?  And isn’t this dresser a beauty?  Imagine it coming fresh off the factory floor all shiny and new.  I bet it was part of a set.  Back then you bought an entire suite of bedroom furniture, not just one dresser.  I’m sure there was a mirrored bureau or vanity to go along with this, don’t you think?  And a fabulous headboard.

But, I just got this piece and it is no longer fresh off the factory floor!  There are a few spots where the veneer is lifting, a couple gouges here and there …

and I really have no idea what is going on with the top!  Was there originally another level glued on top of this one?  Was it just badly damaged by something sitting on top of it?

It’s a mystery to me.  I’m not sure what would cause this sort of damage.  The veneer is totally warped and loose, so I’m guessing water was involved in some manner.

Basically all of these flaws add up to the perfect candidate for a paint job.

Now I just have to pick a color.  My original thought was Miss Mustard Seed’s Eulalie’s Sky, a lovely aqua blue.  But then I also happen to have some of her Shutter Grey on hand as well.  Wouldn’t that be pretty?  With the raised oval and rectangle painted in Grain Sack.  Obviously those two spots are also crying out for a stencil, and since I just ordered a new batch from Maison de Stencils the other day, I’m going to have to wait patiently for them to arrive.  Meanwhile, I will do what I can to repair this lovely dresser so it’s ready for its makeover.

 

I confess that I adore all things European.  I have been lucky enough to be able to travel to Europe  a few times, and each time I go I decide that I love another city the best.  Our last trip was to Prague, which was completely charming and lovely.

But I have gotten off track … I meant to say that London is one of my favorite cities.  The museums!  The flowers!  The history!  The theatres!  The shopping!  All fabulous.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been there since I made the switch to digital photography, so I don’t have any fab pics to share with you.  I didn’t actually use the camera and guidebook in this photo though, it wasn’t that long ago!

  Anyway, in honor of all things Anglo, let me present …

 A little grey on grey Union Jack action.

Boring details:  painted with MMS milk paint in Trophy.  However, if any of you have ever tried to use tape on milk paint, you know that they don’t mix.  So, I added bonding agent to the Trophy just in the rectangular section that became the Union Jack.  I wanted the rest of the dresser to chip and distress, but I didn’t want to pull the paint off with tape while adding my flag.  I will warn you that even with the bonding agent, I lost some chunks of paint.  I also peeled the tape off very, very carefully.  The white is latex, and the pale grey on top is a mix of the white latex and the Trophy with bonding agent.  I won’t continue to bore you with the details of painting the jack, let’s just say that far too much Frog tape went into my local landfill after this.

But … in the end, here is a fun Union Jack that I think is unique amongst its peers.

I have done a few Union Jack pieces in my day.  Every time I do one I say ‘never again’.  I find them very time consuming, and I’m never entirely happy with my results.  I always think I could have done this or that better.  I did do a pair of end tables that turned out quite nice, and my friend Cathy has them in her family room now.

I also have done a few pieces in the traditional red, white and blue.

In fact, I even painted a small writing desk for my husband’s study with the U.J.  You know I love it when I keep one for myself!

But, I won’t be keeping this guy.  He is headed for Junk Bonanza.

A few weeks back I was chatting with Lori about our upcoming Junk Bonanza booth. She mentioned that we would need some sort of checkout counter, something we could stand at to write up receipts. Preferably with storage so we can throw some supplies/snacks/etc in there. So I started searching for something that would work, keeping in mind that it also had to meet my vintage fab standards. To be honest, I wasn’t optimistic.

But then, I came across this.

Perfect height to stand at and write up receipts. Two shelves inside; one for paperwork, pens, receipt books and one for snacks, drinks, purses, sweaters, or whatever else we might need to have with us. It is as if this thing was made to be a checkout stand rather than a radio cabinet.  Check out the lovely details!  I knew it would be fab painted.

It was listed at $100 on craigslist … which frankly was too much. So, I sent an offer of $50. And it was accepted! Woo hoo!

I sent Mr. Q to pick it up in Minneapolis, and when I got home and took a look at it in person there was much rejoicing. It’s perfect for my needs! And I knew it would also be a fun piece to revamp.

I immediately mixed up some MMS milk paint in Trophy and while waiting for the pigments to dissolve a bit, I threw some chicken in the oven and gave the piece a quick sanding. Then, while my chicken cooked, I gave the paint another stir and slapped on the first coat. After dinner, I gave it a second coat. While that was drying, I studied it. I knew I wanted to add some MMS Grain Sack to the curly raised details near the top, but I realized it would also be fun to paint the lower fretwork in Grain Sack. Then, to balance it out, I also painted the very bottom raised detail in Grain Sack. And naturally, a stencil was called for.

Sometimes you just have to go with the flow with milk paint. In this case, I spent quite a bit of time painting that fretwork with a tiny brush to get it just right, and then almost all of that paint chipped off!  Not to be defeated, I sanded the rest of it off and painted it again.  The 2nd time around there was less chipping thanks to the sanding.

Now … don’t tell anyone, but I just used painted cardboard to cover behind the fretwork.  To cover the upper opening, I used spray adhesive to adhere vintage book pages to cardboard.  The cardboard is just stapled in place from the back.  Since this is a checkout stand, I used pages from “Ropps’s New Calculator” … which seems to have tons of tables to calculate stuff like the cost of grain and such, which seemed appropriate somehow.

When all is said and done, now it looks like this.

Isn’t it lovely.  It’s very possible that we will have the most fabulous check out stand at Junk Bonanza!  Well … OK … I suspect the competition will be fierce, so maybe not.  But we’ll definitely hold our own.

P.S.  You may have noticed my painted books peeking out of the edge of that last photo.  I’ve done some in Trophy and some in Eulalie’s Sky for Junk Bonanza.

Are you wondering how I manage to find so many good pieces on craigslist?  Well, I have a secret weapon.  A craigslist spotter in the form of my neighbor Karen (a.k.a. nnK).  Not only does she spot stuff for me, but while I was away in Las Vegas, nnK and Ken went and picked a dresser up for me as well.  How lucky am I?

There is an interesting twist to this story.  You see, this dresser was listed for a mere $45.  nnK spotted it and went into action quickly.  She contacted the seller and set up a time to pick it up the very next morning.  She texted me and asked if she should offer $40.  I replied lickety split and said no!  I knew there would be numerous buyers waiting in line for this dresser.  Pay full price and pick up promptly.  This is the rule to live by if you want to get bargains on craigslist.

This is where the story takes a turn.  You see, later that evening, the seller contacted nnK and said she’d had multiple offers on the dresser, including a buyer who was willing to pay $60 and pick it up immediately.  She would be willing to hold it for us though, if we would pay the $60!  Has this ever happened to you with a craigslist purchase?  I’m sure a lot of you are now thinking maybe it would be time to walk away.  But, no, $60 was still a pretty good deal for this dresser … at least from my perspective sitting in Las Vegas sipping a margarita.  So I told nnK to go for it.

I don’t regret it, it did turn out lovely … but a closer inspection showed that this dresser was in pretty rough shape.  The bottoms were falling out of the drawers.  The top was badly warped.  One drawer had a huge gouge across the top of it.  Several of the drawer slides were falling off.  It was missing two drawer pulls.  Yikes!  $45 was really a fair price, but when you have a bidding war what can you do?  Walk away, or pay more.  I had secret weapon no. 2 in my back pocket though, Ken.  He fixed all of these problems with a few tools, some wood glue and a lot of know-how.  The most complicated repair was the side of this drawer where the bottom had completely broken away.

Ken added a new piece of wood to the side of the drawer to hold the bottom in place.  Clever!  We also used a complicated systems of pulleys and levers to deal with the warped top … well, not really, but we did use a giant clamp, some glue and a screw that was cleverly hidden under the back trim piece.

I knew all along I wanted to paint this dresser in Miss Mustard Seed’s Kitchen Scale.  This color is so fabulous to work with.  It goes on so quickly, covers well in two coats and dries in minutes.  Not to mention, it is just simply gorgeous.  Instead of my usual hemp oil finish, I decided to use a combination of clear wax and antique wax on this piece to add a little more dimension.

I also added all new glass knobs.

I hadn’t originally intended to stencil this dresser, but when I realized I had the perfect “PARIS” for that medallion, it seemed like a no brainer.

I lined the top two drawers with some of my favorite October Afternoon scrapbook paper.

In the end, this dresser is just lovely.  It’s the perfect size to be tucked in to just about any spot.  Of course it would work in a bedroom, but you could also put this one in a kitchen, bathroom, hallway, mud room, laundry room … you name it.  I’ll be taking this one to Junk Bonanza with me and I’m sure it will go to a good home!